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History repeating itself in Kashi? - V.P. Bhatia
Cabbages and Kings
by V.P. Bhatia
"History repeating itself in Kashi?"
The pseudo-secular tribe is in a tizzy. Diehard Islamists are fulminating.
Their running dogs are hurling the hackneyed epithets like
'fascist','communalist' etc. to coverup the bitter truth. They fear the
history of Ayodhya repeating itself in Kashi. But are doing everything
possible to precipitate exactly the same situation. Instead of working for
a peaceful transfer, they are egging on the proud preservers of the
imperialist-vandalist tradition to strike confrontationist postures. They
fail to see the writing on the wall-of the Aurangzebi Mosque structure on
temple walls. Degenerate secularists may uphold it as a model of
Hindu-Muslim unity but the Hindus in general are not amused.
The Hindu baiters are surprised how the banned VHP was able to put up such
a big show in Varanasi. The simple explanation is people's will. No
wonder, therefore, that not all the bandobast of the Central and State
governments could prevent the forceful assertion of the national will.
The blabbering 'Mullah' of Lucknow has been stumped into silence like his
patron 'Imam-ul-Hind' of Delhi, for the time being at least.
It is another matter, though, that the PROs of the Secular-Islamic Axis
are set to confuse and complicate the issue. It is interesting to find the
'new Jinnah' proclaiming non-chalantly that the "site has no special
significance for the Hindus as the Kashi Vishwanath Temple stands next
door in all its glory." He of course thinks that the Hindus can forget
that the real site is under forcible Islamic occupation and the new one
was built by Maharani Ahilya Bai to serve as a substitute till the
imperialist stranglehold was lifted. But even that is under tight security
cordon because of the conflict over the entire complex.
Meanwhile some pettifoggers are exercising their legal right to drag in
the Supreme Court once more, to skirt timely transfer to the popular
sovereign which can make or unmake laws. For example, the following report
entitled, "Time for Judiciary to gaurd Secularism", by the legal
correspondent of the Times of India (Delhi, Feb. 27, '95) on VHP's call
for "liberation of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple runs as follows:
"An attempt has again been made by the banned Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
and its like organisations to repeat what they had done two years ago at
Ayodhya. Despite the apex court's directive that no harm should be done to
the Babri mosque and no construction activity should take place there,
saffron depredators in July constructed a concrete platform in the
vicinity of the then intact Rama Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid structure with a
possible motive to utilise this place for their future designs. Six months
later on December 6, they demolished the mosque. BJP's state government
and the Centre watched the demolition drive which was performed with
utmost precision by the trained hands."
"Now the VHP has again gathered courage to repeat its Ayodhya acts in
Varanasi. A major agitation is in the offing to shift the centuries old
Gyanvapi mosque adjacent to the Vishwanath temple. The occasion to take
the first step is on Mahashivaratri this Monday (Feb. 27)."
"It must not be forgotten that five months ago, on September 24, a
three-judge bench headed by the then chief justice, Mr. V.N.
Venkatachaliah, had passed a detailed order on a writ petition filed by
Mohammed Aslam alias Bhure. Needless to say, Mr. Aslam had earlier sought
protection of the Babri mosque through the Court's intervention."
"Mr. Aslam had filed a fresh petition seeking protection of the Gyanvapi
mosque. What was the need for him to move afresh if the old order was
intact?"
"The Supreme court had disposed of his petion observing that it was the
statutory obligation of the state to enforce the Places of Worship
(Special Provision Act, 1991)."
"Thus the court said that any direction of the "hypethetical possibility
of violations" amounts to no more than recanting the provisions of the
legislation itself, and that such a violation was "eminently" a matter for
appropriate evaluation and action by the executive. However, the plaintiff
Mohammed Aslam alias Bhure's counsel said that when the Ayodhya structure
was being demolished to the ground a slogan which repeatedly rented the
air was 'Yeh to ek jhanki hai, Mathura Kashi baki hai' so, the judiciary
was asked to intervene in the absence of strong political will to combat
anti-secular forces with an iron hand."
One may comment in this context that judiciary is wisely wary so far at
least, to step into a perfectly just Hindu claim on Gyanvapi mosque which
has been converted into the political issue of survival of secularism,
like the earlier Ayodhya issue. The judiciary has already proved a certain
lack of will by dragging its feet too long as in the case of Lucknow bench
of the Allahbad High Court which gave its judgement a week too late. And
when the Supreme Court plunged headling into it, it was a case of bolting
the door after the horse had run away. That is, acting after the people
had asserted their sovereignty, instead of the ardently sought amicable
transfer by mutual consent.
Still must be said to the credit of the Supreme Court that it gave the
judgement seemingly leaving enough scope for a nationally minded
government to do justice to the Hindus if it had the will to do so. That
is if you forget the minority judgement lauded by the Islamic secular
fundamentalist axis as more significant and secular than the majority one.
No wonder, some saw a communal split and even saw shades of minorityism in
it.
Anyway, it is good that Mr. Bhure has again started tilting at windmills.
For, the results can once again be the same for two reasons. One, the
secular-Islamic axis will go on providing the needless provocation to the
Hindus by their outrageous bids to prove the present-day worshippers of
vandals like Aurangzeb as the poor harassed victims. Similarly, the
victims of the centuries-long Islamic aggression will be dubbed as
depredators if they try to remove the humiliating scars on the face of
Mother India. They will be dubbed aggressors exactly as Pakistan is trying
to turn the tables on India in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the ace secularists of the national press will take the tempo
of disinformation about historical facts to a defeaning crescendo. They
will never care to tell the truth to their readers, so fearful of
historical truth is the "Nehruvian Thought Police", now dominating our
English Press. They, however, forget that every Hindu worth his salt knows
facts in the heart of his hearts as the iron lies embedded in his
lacerated racial soul. So the vicious propaganda would not click but
provoke another mass action. Already we find the secular pen-pushers
making fun of Acharya Giriraj Kishore or Ashok Singhal's assertion that
"there was no need for giving proof on the claim for the Kashi temple",
though even a fleeting visit to the site would convince even the purblind.
For, the mosque structure superimposed on the intact temple walls as a
deliberate Islamic insult to the Hindu religion is there for anyone to
see. It is not in fact even in the interest of Muslims to keep it standing
in such a provocative form. But then our secularists are neither blind nor
purblind but self-blinkered. So, the history will repeat itself, when even
the solid proof of destruction of the original temple to build the
Gyanvapi mosque is available in 'Nasir-e-Alamgiri' by a Muslim historian.
Anyway, for the information of our Islamic-hirelings one would like
reproduce a history of Aurangzeb's blatant vandalism in Kashi from an
internationally renowned tourist guide "Travel Survival Kit". Issue by the
Australian publishers of a series of such guides on every country of the
world, it is considered the most authentic and accurate. Given here-under
a few extracts on section of Varanasi and its tourist spots from the 1990
edition of the volume 'INDIA', comprising 1000 pages, authored by four
writers--three foreigners and one Nepali Hindu journalist. Here is what
its entry on Varanasi and its background says:
"Varanasi, the 'eternal' city, is one of the most important pilgrimage
sites in India and also a major tourist attraction.. Situated on the banks
of Ganges, Varanasi has been a centre of learning and civilization for
over 2,000 years. It was at Sarnath only 10 km away that the Buddha first
preached his message of enlightenment, 25 centuries ago. Later the city
became a great Hindu centre, but was looted a number of times by Muslim
invaders from the 11th century onwards. These destructive visits climaxed
with that of the Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb, who destroyed almost all of the
temples and converted the most famous one into a mosque .... "(Pp.
286-287).
"Golden Temple: Dedicated to Vishveshwara (Vishwanath), Shiva as Lord of
the Universe, the Golden Temple is across the road from the original
position. Aurangzeb destroyed the original temple and built a mosque over
it--traces of earlier temple can be seen behind the mosque. The present
temple was built in 1776 by Ahilya Bai of Indore, and the gold-plating
(three-quarters of a ton of it!) on the towers was provided by Maharaja
Ranjit Singh of Lahore. Next to the temple is the the Gyanvapi Kupor well,
the 'well of knowledge'. Much esteemed by the faithful, this well is said
to contain the Shiva-lingam removed from the original temple and hidden to
protect it from Aurangzeb."
"Great Mosque of Aurangzeb: Constructed using columns from the Bisaswan
Temple razed by Aurangzeb, this great mosque has minarets towering 71
meters above the Ganges. Armed Gaurds protect the mosque as the Indian
Government wants to ensure there are no problems between Hindus and
Muslims ....."
"New Vishwanath Temple: It's about a 30 minute walk from the gates of the
university to the new Vishwanath Temple which was planned by Pandit (Madan
Mohan) Malviya and built by the wealthy Birla family of Industrialists. A
great nationalist, Pandit Malviya wished to see Hinduism revived without
its caste distinctions and prejudices-accordingly, this temple, unlike so
many in Varanasi, is open to all, irrespective of caste or religion. The
interior has a Shiva Lingam and verses from Hindu scriptures inscribed on
the walls. The temple is supposed to be a replica of the original
Vishwanath Temple, destroyed by Aurangzeb ......"
Everyone except the secular-Islamic axis will admit that no proof is
needed to establish the Hindu claim over these vandalized Temples. The
best course to ensure permanent peace will be to persuade Muslims to
surrender at least the most revered shrine to the Hindus. But as they say,
none so blind as the one who has eyes but would not see. So, we have the
anti-Hindu Gul Muhammads reminding one of the Persian saying 'Zamin jumbad
na jumbad Gul Muhammad." The earth may shake but our Gul Muhammads will
adamantly cling to their brutal legacy which is worse than the original
sin. So we see them cutching to their lies and half-truths even when the
ground slips from under their feet. But when the undoctored historical
truth, like murder, will be out.
-----
Organiser, March 12, 1995
Rajiv Varma
